This week I was on holiday, in lovely Wroclaw, Poland of all places. Having squeezed the free Wi-Fi for all it had and avoid the leeches of international data charges, I still had access to Spotify. However, the coldness of some areas of the city inspired some very 80’s new-wave, electronica and post-punk tones, so I didn’t do any listening of new musics per se and my soundtrack more or less consisted of entirely Depeche Mode, Schoolyard Heroes and Pure Reason Revolution. Instead of trying to pick one or traverse the extensive 80’s back catalogue of music I own, have three cherry-picked choices of the songs that echoed constantly from the hostel’s incredibly comfortable common room. Bon apettit.

(Track of the Week, 2 weeks ago)

This is possibly the most mainstream track I’ve probably posted thus far, but it was a slow week that week. That said, it does not discredit how good this song actually is. With the so-far unknown Dominique Young Unique spitting over a Godzilla-inspired soundtrack and tribal beats before following into a slow dancehall-destroying bombshell, most likely as a result of Diplo’s recent touring stint as one half of Major Lazer. The only way this can truly be appreciated is with an awesome sub-woofer as the bass is staggering, but in combination with the electro flourishes here and there and the emergence of trap and moombahton as cultural phenomenons, the meeting in the middle of all of these EDM fusions has made this one of this year’s sleeper club hits. Well, as far as mainstream radio goes anyway. Ridiculously enjoyable, not to mention my twerking jam of choice.

Ulterior have had the pleasure of being one of the very first bands I posted about on this blog, due to their Wild In Wildlife album being a slice of post 80’s goth/industrial influenced brilliance. However, I did feel that the members do have an air of arrogance about them or they are something much bigger than they currently are. That changed upon recently listening to their 2013 release The Bleach Room, which was being funded by fans for the best part of a year. The final song of the album The Locus Of Control gives me reason to believe that that air of arrogance could be justified. It is incredible. Cold, analogue synths, icy atmospheres, Sisters of Mercy-style gang vocals, mostly monotone lyrics, both nostalgic and creepy, guitars that switch between chills and vitriol… The combination for me has created one of my favourite tracks released this year, it is a dystopic reimagining of a classic period of music that get better with every single listen. The 80’s have never sounded so sinister and Ulterior have every reason to flaunt their creation, The Bleach Room is an understated work of art.

Placebo can do very little wrong, and although I’m making a judgment on only a minute and a half clip, I’m already going to proclaim this as another classic hit waiting to happen. Haunting piano, unmistakably vulnerable lyrics, minimal but atmospheric guitar, it’s so well put together, words can’t describe.  Shades of Song To Say Goodbye echo throughout, it sounds almost like its spiritual sequel but that is by no means a hinderance. Heartfelt, memorable, addictive, this is the Placebo that fans know and love and if you’re not a fan, this is truly awesome emotional songwriting that you should give a chance. I demand that naysayers eat their words, some of the album previews have strayed from what they do best but there is no way you can deny the astonishing beauty of A Million Little Pieces. I’m infatuated. End of.

I wanted to post a lot more about this band because I’ve been listening to their music a lot recently but I could only have one track of the week and I was hooked on I Am Legion. And then I forgot about them. But a week has passed, and now I can post about the eclectic punk-inspired metal antics of France’s Omaha Bitch. While the feminist rage if word ever got out about this video would be enormous, I find this video entertaining and a pretty good idea, the same can be said about this band. While Dancing Cyprine is my track of the week because of the slightly unconventional take on hardcore with perhaps a persuasion of death metal woven in, it is merely one side of this incredibly dynamic band. Gang claps, a ferociously heavy throwdown moment and a very frenzied freakout moment make this track truly if not a pleasurable, a fascinating listen to hear a menagerie of influences thrown into 3 and a half minutes of organised chaos. I wouldn’t say it is for everyone but I sure as hell enjoy it.

I was initially hesitant about the collaboration between Noisia and Foreign Beggars despite my love for their previous work together because well… Noisia have been somewhat of a creative drought of late and Foreign Beggars’ work for me, can be kinda inconsistent. That hesitation was immediately wiped after I heard this. Make Those Move was brutal bass and not much else, but Choosing For You has a more graceful dark electro swagger (?), confined in a skittery, dancefloor bombshell. Lyrics leave a lot to be desired at times, but never this year did I think I’d find myself using the phrase ‘brain fungus.’ I’d love to know the story behind that because it’s stupidly infectious. But that just seems to be the essence of this track in a nutshell. The beat is straight-up head-nodding in the back of a car with your mates material, the bass goes as low as Satan’s basement and that drop will make anybody body-pop more than an itchy body with Tourettes. This was clearly made with the streets in mind, much down to the influence of the Beggars no doubt and again shows the uprising of trap in recent months as a dominant dance genre. I Am Legion are out to prove why they are essential in their respective art styles and if Choosing For You is the grounds to prove it, then consider them heard loud and clear.

It’s not often that I get scared by drum ‘n’ bass tracks but upon hearing this drop, I cowered in the corner for a brief moment. Only to resume my aggressive bass face and head swaying at how this track will make people freak out. It’s clear immediately how epic this sets out to be with the sheer cavernous atmosphere, the echoes that could travel through the universe and thunderous percussion, building up to that utterly petrifying roar. The bassline will punches so hard  it will take your jaw clean off and shatter windows with it at ballistic intensity. Subtlety is by no means an option. As far as I’m concerned, that sits fine with me and hence why it’s on heavy rotation and incredibly likely to be future DJ material.

(For last week)

I haven’t been listening to a lot of newish music lately, although I have been contemplating recording a completely neurofunk-based mix recently and have stuck this track on a fair amount recently. I don’t know whether I will ever use this in a mix but I really enjoy this for some bizarre reason. Konichi, based in the hills of Gloucestershire, makes a more traditional form of drum ‘n’ bass known as jump up and this pushes the boundaries at what jump up is known for. It has practically no build-up except from the drop, hence the term ‘jump up’ but I like the almost angry frog warbling bassline about this track. The sheer viciousness will make any head bob and face suck itself inwards at the power it has, even if it won’t make you skank like no tomorrow. It is certainly an acquired taste, but no doubt fun to listen to.

(For two weeks ago)

I was feeling quite down two weeks ago, so I kinda wanted a powerful pick-me-up that I could bellow at an incredible volume, and this fit the bill perfectly. I have posted about this band before and how much of a massive shame it is that they are no longer together because they make such incredible, compelling music. If as many singers in modern rock and metal music injected as much passion and emotion into the mantras they perform, the quality would skyrocket. This is intense, dramatic and deeply personal progressive rock at its absolute finest.  The guitar work has been master crafted to reflect each mood and revelation in the lyrics, which seemed to have almost abandoned all hope until the very bitter end. Which In its irony, is how the band seemed to have concluded. I cannot stress enough the sheer talent these guys have and it is outright criminal that they never received the recognition they deserved for their gifts to modern music. Simply phenomenal.

(For this week)

This week’s track was a very close run thing but I love the other contender’s works so it was hard to pick just one song. That of course made Kavinsky the only choice. European electronic music is quite possibly the best in the world and while I’m not particularly keen on some of the output, this homage to the 80’s is amazing. I quite simply could listen to this on repeat forever. It is so engrossing to get lost in the synth splashes that fly everywhere, it is true nigh-time driving music by every measure of the imagination. Whether as a soundtrack or dance music, hypnotic does not quite cover the effect this track has and the hype surrounding Kavinsky is more than justified on this track alone. Doing it better than the masters of French electro music, this will be no doubt playing for quite some time on any soundsystem I possess.